Reflecting on books I've read from the first half of 2023
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- MID-YEAR UPDATE - Reading plans for the rest of 2023!
#booktube #read2023 #tbr
Hello friends! Welcome to my mid-year reading update and my reading plans for the remainder of 2023 This mid-year update is going to be recapping my overall thoughts on my 2023 reading experience and then looking ahead to the back half of 2023 and what's on the immediate TBR.
I now have a Patreon that has some cool benefits, including access to my discord server! This is 100% optional and thank everyone for their support!
/ thefantasynuttwork
As a teacher, I have found one of the most challenging tasks is igniting passion for literature in students who are indifferent or even hostile to it. Great teachers are the ones who reach those students (students who are passionate already are easy to teach -- just point them and say, "Go!"). Here on BookTube, the vast majority of viewers are people who are already passionate about books and reading. Given that your audience of folks to convert to book lovers is probably pretty small to begin with, you shouldn't be hard on yourself for not helping more non-readers to become readers. Even a handful of those testimonies of converts to literature over the lifetime of your channel means a major accomplishment. And also don't forget all your viewers who already love books and appreciate your insights and reflections, such as myself. As for Chatting with Nutts, whatever you end up doing, I'll still be showing up!
Thank you my friend, that was very well said!
Those Bas-Lag novels have been solidly sitting in my fantasy top 10 ever since I read them a decade ago.
They’re tremendous
Yes! Jeroen is the man.
@@MattonBooks A scientific fact
You and other booktubers have gotten me into reading again in the last few years. The series I credit you with introducing me to in The Dandelion Dynasty. It is now one of my favorites of all time. I have since introduced several others to this series and it has been an incredible experience! Thank you for helping me along my reading journey.
This makes me so happy
I'm with you in wanting to slow down my reading - I feel like I'm doing better this year but still feel like I'm occasionally thinking about the next book rather than the one I'm reading (unless it's amazing of course). Stieg Larsson's trilogy is great! I think I liked the second book the most of the three. I went through a big phase with crime fiction about a decade ago, but two authors I'd recommend that I still read regularly in that genre are Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane. Connelly simply hasn't written a bad book (I've read all 40 of them). His ceiling may not hit the heights of some others, but his floor is sky high. Pick up The Poet. Dennis Lehane isn't as consistently good as Connelly, but has some really fantastic books, several of which became films (Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone to name two.). Start with anything besides Since We Fell. Lee Child's Jack Reacher books are pretty great too. And whatever you decide with Chatting with Nutts, I'm sure we'll all be on board! I would say do what you are most passionate about doing, and your viewers will follow.
Appreciate this Josh! I keep hearing Lehane’s name mentioned as a solid crime recommendation! I’ll add him to the tbr for sure
Hi Jimmy. I say if you've had an idea brewing for some time to make a change to your schedule of chats go for it. Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't. See if it works. The channel is not just for us, it's for you too. I've been reading less this year due to vision challenges and personal/family issues. I've recently fallen into a pattern of alternating horror with literary classics. I find the change refreshing. Moving forward I have many authors I enjoy that I haven't read for some time. My list includes Ray Bradbury, Jeff Noon, Roger Zelazny (I need to read the last 4 Amber novels), and Neil Gaiman. Happy reading!
I appreciate you Curt!
I was reading before i founf your channel, i was in the community for a couple years at that point, but I wasnt reading on a deeper level. Your channel, chatting with nutts, live shows and reviews is what moulded me into a more methodical, more observant reader. I find that to be the greatest thing to have happened in my reafing journey, because it opened the floodgates for all the boring books out there! Now i want to go back to classics i hated as a teenager, i want to read stuff like Bakker, Erikson etc. And I think that is one of the best things a booktuber can do to someone. Trying to be the reason for someone to pick up reading is fairly out of reach for a content creator who built his whole platform on talking abozt books. People who can do that are peopke like Pewdiepie who got many into reading because he was pushing it while his fanbase came from other avenues. So, my point would be that your channel played a massive role for me personally, and with time as you yourself mature more asa reader your content is getting even better, even more profound and insightful. This also is a consequenve of your branching out, reading da Russians and other pretentious crap (i love my russians no worries). Your branching out allows you to further develop the skill of articulating your thoughts in a meanintful manner and also you learn to appreciate and notice things that your genre of choice maybe doesnt focus on.
All that to say i think you are doing great stuff jimmy! Been here for like 2 yesrs almost at this point and its been only uphill ESPECIALLY in the solo prefilmed video department. The things you talk aabout in live shpws are also getting deeper, more nuanced and just more interesting! (Nd they were great before as well, hencewhy we are all here)
Also im on a third rewatch of that Erikson CWN episode lmao, thats a classic
I love ya buddy, thank you
I love chatting with Nutts just as it is. If you just recycled the same guests it would always be entertaining. But any changes you make -different guests/timing/seasonal... would probably be equally great. The important thing is that you enjoy whatever you do. Same with the ideas you have that will take a lot of effort - only put in the time if you find it fulfilling. It seems stressing yourself out or doing things to try to appeal to an audience don't work well for anyone. Just keep on being Jimmy Nutts and I'll keep watching.
Means a lot to me, thank you!
I'm most excited about finishing The Wars of Light & Shadow. This is already an all-time favorite for me (I'm on book 9). I just love it. But I'm spacing them out so hard because the last book isn't due until May next year, so that's tough :D
Also currently in the middle of the 3rd to last book of Black Company. Looking forward to those videos, man!
Appreciate it!
I started reading Malazan again. On Dust of Dreams. Now I'm having a mid year crisis because my tbr is shelved until I'm done Malazan ahaha.
Good problems to have haha
Same man. I can't read multiple series at a time. I started malazan and put in all esselmonts work and reading everything. On Crimson Guard atm. Next of the ten is Toll of the Hounds
Definitely agree with you on wanting to slow down with the reading a bit. I'm already a "slow" reader by comparison but sometimes it's good to appreciate and digest what you're reading. Also, i've been collecting some older cool looking MMPB of the Chronicles of Amber. Not only do they look cool, but the series sounds really cool too...looking forward to it at some point
Those old covers are so cool
I read Blackwater last month - loved it!!! I hope you continue to enjoy it.
I do too!
Jimmy - since you love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I would recommend Mick Herron’s Slough House series that begins with Slow Horses. (Which also has an incredible adaptation.) Since you like slower books you might try a classic in that genre, John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It’s actually the third book in the Smiley series but the (brilliant) author really hit his stride with this and later rolled right into the Smiley’s People portion of the series.
You are wise to plan to take your time with Book of the New Sun. I read it this year and it was an amazing experience but took soooooo much more time than I had anticipated.
Thank you for the recommendation!
You had me at "I love Lord of Light".
Liked and Subscribed 😎
Ayyyyy
Black Company! Bas Lag! Amber! There’s so much good stuff in this video I can’t even begin to comment on it all, but suffice it to say you’re doing an awesome job, and I’m looking forward to you focussing for a while on Cook & Zelazny. 🙂👌🏻
Oh, and switching it up a bit with CWN sounds like fun. 🙂
I’m hyped for the series as well!
Glad to hear you're still reading the Black Company books. Love that series! Where else in fantasy will you find the phrase "shootin' the shit with grunts"? JRRT never wrote that.
Hahahah facts
Hey Jimmy, an interesting question you pose there, getting people into reading. I think it is hard, but I'll share my experience and subsequent thoughts of getting into reading again since a year ago. I had not read intensively for a long time (maybe a book every half year and some stuff for work), and mostly spent my personal time outside of work and social activities on watching anime, youtube and playing games.
It was in this combination of watching one piece youtubers that I accidentally saw a conversation between Liam and Merphy on his secondary channel dude in a room. She was this extremely energetic gushing person who just dug into one piece but apparently was more of a book tuber. So I just hopped over, only to find her channel was filled with fantasy content, which first made me look more into the booktube community (thank YT for their great algorithm) and then I heard these stories from her and other booktubers about all these great series I never heard about before. Long story short, I started on Mistborn, Dresden Files and Malazan over the span of a few months, dug in deeper and now read about 3000 pages a month ( it is not about the numbers, but just to show how much it captivated me).
The bottom line is, as a non-active reader, I needed the collaboration/cross-over with another hobby to get me started up again. At least that's how Merphy got me started. Perhaps your dudes reading manga channel is a great opportunity for that. For me it is an extra bonus because it is amazing to see someone experience one piece for the very first time with all the thoughts and hypotheses that come with that.
I love hearing this story so much. This is very encouraging and I’m so happy you found the community!
My two top favorite books so far has to be «The Veiled Throne» by Ken Liu & «The Winter King» by Bernard Cornwell, followed by (in no particular order): «The Farthest Shore» by Ursula K. Le Guin, «The Winter Road» by Adrian Selby, «Salammbo» by Gustave Flaubert, «The Retreat to Avalon» by Sean Poage and «The Way of Edan» by Philip Chase! 😃
Special mention to:
>Bind 1# of the Norse Saga «Flatøybok» (Gorgeous leather-bound edition and illustrated by the simply brilliant Anders Kvåle Rue!)
>«The Little Emperors» byAlfred Duggan (Love very dry British humor on politics and bureaucracy (so many great quotes!), and excellent description of how (possibly) Roman Britain fell!)
Great stuff!!
@@thefantasynuttwork And I have «Prophet of Edan», «Under Heaven» by GGK and «Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser» coming right up! So an Amazing Year so far!
Cheers Jimmy!
Great video as always!
CWN is by far my favorite thing on RUclips. Tuning in live is always great but honestly listening back if I miss mondays during work make the work day so much better. Whatever you choose to do I will tune in. I like the free flowing ness of it. So a “themed season” in idea isn’t something I would have pitched as an idea,but like I said I will tune in and I’m sure it would be great.
Crime thriller rec - Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I can usually predict thrillers pretty good but this one is so dark and twisted had my mouth dropping several times! My go to thriller recommendation.
And as far as what I’m most excited for in the back half of the year is Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space series. I’ve finished his standalones and loved almost all of them! Curious to see your thoughts on House of Suns! But I can’t wait to dive into his acclaimed series. Also hoping to try some Peter F Hamilton too.!
Sorry for rambling! Love the channel
Thanks for all this! The themes would be very very loose because I love the randomness of it all
I love your channel and find the videos very informative. I'm having a hard time deciding on whether or not to read 2 things...The Sword of Kaigen - because of how annoying people in reviews say the female Mother character is and Green Bone Saga because people keep saying its current day urban fiction about drugs and similar to The Godfather, etc, which doesn't interest me...Maybe you'll change my mind on one of these...If you haven't read Old Man's War by John Scalzi, I highly recommend it. Its great SciFi. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to your future videos.
I think Sword of Kaigen is terrific tbh
Your videos are so good! I’ll have to learn from your channel. I just started a book tube/outdoor channel. My first practice videos are pretty cringe… but excited to keep growing!
Keep going!
I love the idea of Chatting with Nutts seasons and temporary shifting themes. You’ve had a ridiculously loaded reading year so far and am getting me so pumped to try stuff like LPQ and Baru and Black Company and Mieville. How do I try all of them when I’m in the middle of Realm of the Elderlings and ASoIaF and 10 other series though I like and want to continue? Plus mix in some new releases and new mediums like manga? There’s too much!!!
We must master cloning, it’s the only way
The most memorable thriller/ serial killer book I read was Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, if you enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo… hmmm both have dragon in the title too.
👀👀👀
your videos make me so happy man!
Glad you enjoy it!
I read otherland when it was published. Loved it! It would be so interesting to revisit the series. Great wrap up!
Thank you!!
Yeah man! A fellow Stieg Larsson lover! Lisbeth is just one of my favorite characters ever 😍 As I've said, I think you will love the Hannibal trilogy by Thomas Harris. It was so ahead of its time
Sooooo good
I'm a bit of a slow reader so i haven't read as many books as i'd like to, but talking in specifics in the first half of the year i started Realm of the Elerlings because of you gushing about it so much lol. I've read up until The Rain Wild Chronicles books and will be reading Fitz and the Fool on the second half (maybe something else if i feel like it) and i've loved almost every single entry so far, it's become one of my favorite series of all time! Thank you very much for your review of the Farseer trilogy, and all the rest of your content !!
(Sorry for my bad english, it's not my first language)
Your English is great, better than mine haha
I'm excited by writing right now
Looking forward to Otherland in September!
🤜🤛
Can't wait!
Just stopping by to say I'm quite excited to see you willing to go through Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, I read them a few years ago and always found it odd they are rarely mentioned. Also, I have Perdido Street Station sitting on my shelf, and you bumped it up on my TBR with your review. I loved Mieville's October, dunno if you read it, but now that you are into the russians, you might love that piece of well told history. Speaking of russian literature, I'm always happy when another person in the world discovers those classic geniouses like Tolstoy (Death of Ivan Ilych is among the best shorts ever) or Dostoevsky (some say he put the soul of earlier Russia to paper, I can just say I loved Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Undergound). Don't forget Turgenev, Gogol, and even Goncharov while you are at it!
I’ll check those out!
This was a great midyear update Jimmy! 🙌🏼 I think seasons for CWN makes sense and it sounds great! 🤓 I read The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo in university and remember really liking it (I didn’t read the books written by a different author either). Have you seen the movie adaptation?? It’s so intense! Literally on the edge of your seat. I don’t remember how faithful it is to the book, but as a movie in itself I think it’s great 🔥 In answer to your question, what more excites me in terms of reading for the rest of the year (at least atm), is actually a nonfiction history project I’m cohosting haha. I’m having a blast reading history. I have many video project ideas and would like to try filming a reading vlog at some point. I’ve always wanted to do it and end up giving up halfway 😅 We’ll see how many of those ideas actually end up on RUclips 😅
I wish you the best with the project!
About crime books: Criminolly highly recommended a crime novel called 'I Was Dora Suarez', by Derek Raymond. I haven't read it yet myself, but I did get it and look forward to reading it soon.
If it helps you recharge your batteries, keep improving the show and try new ideas for the channel, I'm fully on board for a seasonal approach for CWN! Truth be told, I'll consume any content you put out, Jimmy. To answer your question, the biggest thing I'm excited about for the back-half of the year is to continue my journey through Realm of the Elderlings. I started Rain Wild Chronicles recently and it's been a wonderful and really special reading experience up to this point. Can't wait to see what the future holds for your awesome channel!
Thanks friend!
Appreciate your videos very much. New fan here!
Glad you are here!
I'm hoping to get into Malazan by 2024! I can't wait to get into your spoiler discussion when I start Malazan. For now I'll focus on finishing Faithful and the fallen series by John Gwynne and start reading the first law trilogy by Sept.
That’s great! Happy reading 😁
Hi, I picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for $2 at a thrift store due to you recommendation! Thanks!
ITS SO GOOD
Mister Nutts I'm looking forward toward that top ten. You've been killing it with your openness to reading diverse genres, I love to diversify my reading too because I think it's weird to just stick to one genre when there is a world of possibilities out there. Excellent videos!!!!
Thank you 🙏
I would really miss Chatting with Nutts during a break, but letting you have a proper break and some time to recharge and get creative would be worth it, so I say go for it! I like your showcase idea as well--I'm a bit past the point of "getting back into books", but there's times I want to just get an idea of a book without being clouded be preconceptions (which is why I almost watch too MANY reviews before starting anything, lately... I want a broad range of opinions so none of them stick lol). Back half of the year is going to be Stormlight and Rain Wild Chronicles, but I got the big Earthsea bind up for my birthday, so I may need to rethink my TBR a bit to squeeze it in!!
Thank you!
The Millennium trilogy is excellent. It shouldn’t work (all that detail including rapidly outdating tech) - but somehow it does. Crime/thriller has as many subgenres as fantasy - so there’s plenty to try.
Sad face on Tigana - it is one of my favourite GGK but not my top favourite.
“Wool” was excellent too and unlike many, I liked the trilogy conclusion.
“Otherland” is out there but really brilliant.
I am very happy for you to review or “showcase” items outside fantasy. I read other types of fiction as well as fantasy including classics. I’ve read “Anna Karenina” recently and “War and Peace” and “Death of II” are on to the TBR. I’m currently on a readalong with another YT channel who are doing Charles Dickens in publication order over the next 2 years. That has been a struggle at times (I couldn’t finish Barnaby Rudge) but mostly it’s been OK. I’ve really enjoyed the Anthony Trollope I’ve read so far too - but I can’t cope with him and Dickens at same time🤯
I’m not sure what I’m excited about for rest of year. I am looking forward to “Temple of Fortuna” which is conclusion to Elodie Harper’s Wolf Den trilogy. I have a list of fantasy series to possibly start this year but can’t decide which to pick up (too much choice). I also hope to finish The Expanse by end of year ( 3 remaining plus the short stories).
I love “Chatting with Nutts” but I completely understand if you need the time break to do other things. I doubt YT are compensating you adequately for the amount of time videos take to do……
Oh yeah, my rate per hour from RUclips as far as pay goes has me working for pennies 🤣 but it’s never been about the money so I still love it so much. I am really happy to hear you like the silo trilogy as a whole, I’m getting to book 2&3 this year and it’s something I’m super excited for. You seem extremely well read!
The idea for a seasonal approach to CWN is a great idea! Your core audience will spread the word during the off-season and it would give you time to implement overarching ideas/themes to the season while balancing the free flowing aspects we all love (See every Allen episode). And waiting patiently for something is a rare thing nowadays. I’m all for it Lord Commander
Thank you bro!
Number one thing I'm hyped for during the back half of the year is Malazan botf! I'm on book 4 right now and I genuinely feel like these might be the best books I've ever read
Yesssss
Great motivation to bring more folks into reading. Can't wait to see what the 2nd half of the year brings. I won't say that you brought me back to reading, but going into your channel as well as Johanna, Allen, Philip, Mike, and Bookborn has really given me so many viewpoints and recommendations of what to read next. Plus the discord communities have revitalized my enjoyment for reading. Thank you to you and the whole corner of booktube. You've moved Bas Lag and Tad Williams toward the top of my TBR, and once I find the box they are in, get a re-read of R. Scott Bakker going after 5-ish years away. There is a head on a pole behind you. Oh wait, it's just Bobby B.
It’s always Bobby B 😂
I think a seasonal approach for CWN sounds great! A little downtime might be good for the reasons you mentioned. I'm a Formula 1 fan and I think if you don't have an event every week and the winter off builds anticipation and prevents oversaturation. You have time to reflect and it maybe frees you up a little to plan other interesting projects.
Under the dome is phenomenal! I always use that book as an example of why endings aren't as important as people think because the ending of that book really is bad. And yet it is one of my favorite Stephen King books ever. What a reading experience.
I’m sure I’ll love it!
Jimmy, I reignited my love for reading fiction about 4 years ago now. You were one of the first channels on “booktube” that I subscribed to and began following regularly. You have influenced my reading journey and opened up doors to me that I did not know existed. I appreciate you greatly for that and it has been so much fun to watch your channel grow over the years. My wife who isn’t a big reader and could largely care less about booktube videos sits and watches CWN with me (especially when Allen is on). Whatever you end up doing with CWN will not effect my watching of it, but I personally like the idea of seasons.
I hope your channel continues to grow and the community you’ve created and contributed to continues to grow as well. Happy reading, my friend. Hope you have a great back half of the year.
Thank you so much my brother, that makes my heart full!
I read the death of Ivan Ilyich last year Tolstoy really understands human emotion the way he creates atmosphere and builds tension is incredible. I've just read another of his short stories the Kreutzer Sonata doesn't quite hit the same heights of Ivan Ilyich but definitely worth the read. I also read first love by Ivan Turgenev only 120 or so pages I found it rather impressive for similar reasons. Hope you're well mate, one of the channels that got me into reading over the last couple of years when I'd read maybe one book in my life until I was 27 😂
🙌🙌🙌
Something we have tried to do on our channel, which is exactly what booktubers tell you not to do, is be diverse.
Since we have always read broadly, the thing we try to get across is that it is a humbling thing to do. And really helps pull you out of your comfort zone, even in other aspects of life.
More power to ya Jimbo! Yolanda and I will watch regardless of what you do or read. We're all just readers!
Yolanda is super happy you're getting into The Russians, and I'm soooo happy you're discovering good crime fiction ❤
Appreciate you both!
Glad to hear that you are feeling good about your reading year so far, it always makes me happy to see other people enjoying their reads!! I really like that you are braching out so much and I really appreciate that you are excited about helping new viewers fall back in love with reading. I was already an avid reader when I found your channel, but you did introduce me to some series/authors that I was too intimidated to try myself and helped me go in with an open mind. Dandelion Dynasty and ASOIAF are absolute faves for me right now, and that is partly because of you!
Also, I am very eager to try out things like Traitor Baru Cormorant and Perdido Street Station, which I would never have been interested in otherwise!
Love to hear that you are wanting to improve the channel (even though I would honestly watch it if it were piss-poor quality as well, haha). I like the idea of a seasonal approach to CWN, but I am also going to be very selfish and say that I don't know if I could survive for 3 months without those wonderful episodes to bring me joy. Just do whatever feels best for you though, I will be here to support you no matter what!
Happy reading Jimmy, all the best to you 🥰
Thanks so much and all the best to you as well Esmay!
My favorite thing about CWN is the unpredictability and variety of conversations, and I worry that a seasonal structure could suppress that aspect. I know you said you ‘never want it to be super precise,’ but I feel like part of the anticipation for the show is waiting to see what the hell it’s gonna be like each week.
All that said, I think you should ultimately pursue your own creative vision! I’ll tune in for damn-near anything you decide to do, Jimmy!
Best wishes for the second half of the year!
Love this feedback, appreciate it!
Love all the different genres you've been delving into, Jimmy! I'm also trying to diversify my reads a bit and have been loving it. A good story is a good story. And I think I actually appreciate fantasy more when I read outside the genre and come back to it. I've had Death of Ivan Ilych and Brothers Karamazov on my TBR for a while and I'm really looking forward to it. I read Notes from Underground last year.
I can't wait to see your Top Ten for the year.
I'm with you on pumping the brakes too, I think Booktube encourages way too much of a "rush to the next book" mentality that is tough to kick.
I feel you about appreciating fantasy when coming back to it!
Loved your reading journey this year and all the inspiration that comes along with it. Been doing a lot of literary fiction myself the past few months. Loving the variety and unpredictable element that brings. Gormenghast has been on my shelf waiting for the right time as well so I feel the struggle. I’ll get to it at some stage this year.
Really enjoyed Otherland and how it’s different in all the right ways. Exciting reading plans ahead and as for plans / content it’s for you to ensure you read and make content that inspires you, rather than fitting an audience need. If you feel getting new readers on board with series Im sure the videos in turn will be great. The channel is going from strength to strength and feels fresh month to month.
Much love and happy reading. 🎉
Thank you so much!
And I know you're comments on DTM are off the charts, so I'm gonna say it here. So glad you enjoy One Piece! It's only gonna get better ;D I also love your content for that.
Thank you 😊
The #1 thing I’m looking forward to for the rest of the year is for you to read and talk about Otherland! For myself. I’m hoping to start and finish both the Tawny Man and Age of Madness trilogies. I do like the idea of the seasonal approach. The free form is cool but it would be fun to deep dive some topics. Also, as with my fandom for pro football I love it but an offseason really helps to reset and recharge.
You got some good stuff coming!
Hey Jimmy! It seems like you're having a very fulfilling year so far! I always forget how many projects you have going on and you're crushing them all, of course. I hope you're second half of the year goes just as well! I like having a little break with CWN. Recharge those batteries a little bit. What i'm looking forward to the rest of the year is reading some Throne of Glass (lol), Nevernight, and completing Realm of the Elderlings. Non book wise I'm looking forward to going to the Bahamas in November! Let's get it Jimmy!
Where’s my invite to the Bahamas?!
I like the seasonal idea. You could take a break and recharge with new ideas.. Not that I won't miss CWN, but sometimes change is good to spice things up. 😊
So far,Malazan has been my biggest win this year. And Shauna Lawless. Looking forward to her new book coming out in September.
Hope you have a great summer. ❤
Thank you so much 😊
I’ve not read much in Norwegian noir but might I suggest James Elroy’s The Big Nowhere for classic noir.
Great video! Being an eclectic reader, I loved the variety.
I always try to lure people to read by trying to find what interests them and lightly recommending a title (or giving it).
Want to read more Miéville - really liked The City and the City. Going to try Wolfe too and ordered LPQ (Allen will be pleased).
Looking forward to those mystery videos 😊
Thank you!
I love the chats as they are and I like the diversity that each guest brings. Having a seasonal theme/structure might lessen that week to week randomness somewhat. But that’s only my preference. Also I would prefer an off-season if it helps you to reenergise and keep the chats going at the high quality they already are. Burnout is a bitch.
Also I reckon it’s great that you’re reading outside of fantasy and as also a primarily fantasy reader I don’t expect you to limit yourself based off the name of the channel. I love getting recommendations outside of what I normally encounter. Thanks for all the content jimmy
I genuinely appreciate the feedback!
Great video! A seasonal approach to Chatting with Nutts sounds good, gives you some off time too. You said you're gonna start Otherland but I am curious about when you're gonna keep going with Shadowmarch (finished it earlier this year and while not as good as Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, it was still really damn good, also if you mentioned this in the video and I blanked my bad lol) and also what ever happened to The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts?
Thanks! I will probably come back to shadowmarch after Otherland and then LKOOA, so it could be a while. As far as WOLAS I’ve put it on pause because it’s very demanding due to how dense the writing is so don’t think it’s the right time for me to read it
let's goooooo ! the next half of the year gonna be poggies himothy
my heart dropped because i thought you were gonna say CWN was cancelled jesus christ lmao i love the idea of a theme especially opposing opinions. the episodes so far that have had that kind of feel have been some of my favorites
Thank you so much Bees, and don’t worry CWN is here to stay 🙌
I think a seasonal approach to CWN is fine, even bi-weekly for years is a lot of commitment!
I recently got into university which I'm starting in the fall, and I'm excited to both get out of my sucky job and to hopefully get some more reading done (which sounds weird to say but I literally cannot have less time for myself than right now).
Lots of great stuff, as always!
Thank you!!!
Under the Dome is fantastic, I think you're gonna really like it. The ending did bother me but not the part of it that people tend to say sucks - I actually liked that part.
I’m excited to love the ending and be annoying about it 😎
Chatting With Nutts is the JRE of booktube and I love it.
Hahaha
I plan on reading the Chronicles of Amber this year too! It was on my list of books I want to read this year, and I haven't gotten to it yet
It’s off to a great start for me!
If you’re enjoying crime/noir books you should check out some of the novels by Andrew Klavan, especially his novel “True Crime” (which was made into a movie by Clint Eastwood). It’s not just one of the best crime novels I’ve read it’s one of the best novels I’ve read, period. It’s really REALLY good.
Will do!
The Killing was a dope show. The only advise I can give, is keep being yourself man. If you want to change things up....do it. I think we're all here for it regardless. I'm starting to expand my taste into Psychological Crime Thrillers this year, I'm also looking forward to a Prince of Nothing reread in Aug.
Thanks bro
Persian Fire - Tom Holland
Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield
The Peloponnesian War - Donald Kagan
The Sacred Band - James Romm
Philip & Alexander - Adrian Goldsworthy
Ghost on the Throne - James Romm
Soldiers and Ghosts - J.E. Lendon
Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece - Gustav Schwab
SPQR - Mary Beard
Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants - Garett Ryan
Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines - Garett Ryan
Fall of Carthage - Adrian Goldsworthy
The Storm before the Storm - Mike Duncan
Rubicon - Tom Holland
Dynasty - Tom Holland
Pax - Tom Holland
Caesar - Adrian Goldsworthy
Augustus - Adrian Goldsworthy
Pax Romana - Adrian Goldsworthy
Memoirs of Hadrian - Marguerite Yourcenar
Chronicle of Roman Emperors - Chris Scarre
Emperor of Rome - Mary Beard
The Complete Roman Army - Adrian Goldsworthy
In the Name of Rome - Adrian Goldsworthy
The Fall of the West - Adrian Goldsworthy
The Fall of the Roman Empire - Peter Heather
Rome Resurgent - Peter Heather
In The Shadow of The Sword - Tom Holland
Empires of Faith - Peter Sarris
That is basically my TBR for 2023. I read Augustus by John Williams when you were gushing about Stoner etc (so I thank you for indirectly re igniting a lifelong passion of mine) and have always had a deep fascination with antiquity and I happened to have the income and time available this year to really bite into it so I spent a month researching a chronological TBR of sorts and I dove in with all of my being. Currently reading Memoirs of Hadrian and I hightly encourage you to read it Jimmy. It is by far the best translated work of fiction I've ever read. Please look it up. It is a masterpiece of literature. Akin to Augustus by Williams.
This journey has tangentially made me super interested in how myths, religion and stories in general shape societies. I don't even like Jordan Peterson, but his essays on the bible kind of has some bite to it now. Realizing how ancient myths shaped socities in very real ways and how they subconsciously are created across cultures is so interesting. How it speaks to the human condition and how it solidifies a culture when it lacks an educational system to drive forward generational knowledge.
Would love to see you do chatting with nutts with Mike from mikes book reviews
woof
😭
I do think you'll love Under the Dome, particularly since you loved The Stand. He executes the large cast of characters just as well, if not better, in Under the Dome. Plus, his townbuilding skills are on full display throughout.
Definitely in favor of the seasonal approach to CWN!
Thanks Pat, value your opinion greatly!
The thing I'm most excited about is spooky season! Specifically The Terror by Dan Simmons is on my plan for October
Nice!
I think a seasonal approach would be great and excited to see your green bone review and all your conflicted and hot takes 😆
I feel like such a hater 😭
You should have read the first 5 Amber books in one go. It's only about 700 pages and you get a complete story. And a richer one than most fantasy novels of that length.
I’ll be reading 3, 4, 5 in a row
So glad you loved "Kindred". I am curious how the "Earthseed" duology will affect you. In "Parable of the Talents", the second instalment Octavia E. Butler's almost prophetic view of America (and somehow of the world as well) is bone chilling. I fell I owe you this recommendation after you got me into China Mieville. I am currently reading an ARC of M. L. Wang's new book, "Blood Over Bright Haven" and for sure it will be in my top 10 books of the year. (I am about 55% in and already she has gut punched me.)
I really want to read her new book!!!
@@thefantasynuttwork P.S. The magic system reminded me a bit of C++ and it sounds a bit like programing and calculating probabilities, things that are way over my head, but her heroine and the situations around her are brilliant.
Take your time with BOTNS i read only 6 chapters and it wss the most dense shit ive ever read, Gardens of the Moon felt likr a bedtime story in comparison ( but you are a Bakker enjoyer so you will probably find it just fine :P)
Dang yo
I’m so excited to hear you enjoyed Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! That trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time. Baru Cormorant is on my priority list. I think a seasonal approach to CWN is a good move. It gives you a bit of a breather. Allen may not like it though. 😂😉
I’m definitely gonna finish that trilogy! So excited for it
I've read a lot of fantastic books so far this year:
( 2-6 are not ranked and same for 7-9 )
1. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 9.5/10?
2. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip 9/10
3. Death's End by Liu Cixin 9/10
4. Augustus by John Williams 9/10
5. Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer 9/10??? (I feel like I need to read Book 2-4)
6. A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay 9/10
7. Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark 8.5/10?
8. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card 8.5/10
9. Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan 8.5/10
These 9 were exceptional books and the other books I've read were ranging from fine to very good!
Manga-Comics:
In terms of excellent manga-comics
Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano 10/10
Blue Period by Tsubasa Yamaguchi 9/10
Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White by Taiyou Matsumoto 8.5/10
(caught up again) March Comes in Like a Lion by Chica Umino 9.5/10
Ad Astra: Scipio to Hannibal by Mihachi Kagano 8/10
(caught up again) Die Wergelder by Hiroaki Samura 8.5/10
Kill or Be Killed by Ed Brubaker 8/10
Baby Steps by Hikaru Katsuki 7.5/10
Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta 7.5/10
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection 1-2 by Kevin Eastman 7.5/10
General thoughts on the video:
As a HUGE Gormenghast fan it's nice to hear how much you love the writing! It's definitely intense and yeah if your not in the mood, shelve it then read more later! The same as a huge Blackwater fan! Keen to hear your views on that book as the story progresses, those characters I hold dear in my heart.
Always love hearing about your reading journey. You’ve had a tremendous year!
@@thefantasynuttworksame can be said for you 🎉
Check out Dennis Lehane as soon as possible. If you don't read any other crime novels. Read his.
Glad to see your reading has gone well this year. It has gone well for me too. I am in a bit of a rut this month, but I've had the McCarthy bug bite me again. So I'm gonna read No Country again to see if it gets me out of my funk.
Good luck for the rest of the year Jimmy!
Appreciate ya!
I second this…I think you’d like Dennis Lehane too.
You want feedback, Jimmy? Here's my feedback: Read more books by Robert McCammon! Boy's Life and Gone South are the two I recommend most to you. Especially Gone South with your current mood for crime thrillers.
My number one priority that I'm most excited about for the back half of the year is devouring more of McCammon's bibliography.
Would you say you’re a fan of McCammon?
@@thefantasynuttwork 🤣
Not book related but the thing im most excited moving into the second half of the year are some lifting goals im super close to hitting.
Get it bro!
If you are interested in more Noir style novels, you might want to check out James Ellroy. LA Confidential and American Tabloid are really good.
I own both!
Interesting about Tigana! I just started Lions!
Lions is awesome!
My most anticipated books in the second half of 2023
Britney spears memoir
Kerry Washington memoir
Holly by Stephen king
My favorite crime/noir show is True Detective (season 1 only though). Gave me Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Cormac McCarthy vibes. Give it a try if you have the time🤠🚓 10/10
Omg yes
I’m not here for the Jade Legacy slander 😤
Also thinking to do the Jade War discussion in August!
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo had its boom during the time in my life when I wasn’t reading, but I’m intrigued to hear it holds up 👀
Excited to see your long term projects!
Hahaha I knew Legacy would be a touchy subject 🤣
Let's get Joey Diaz on Chatting with Nutts aka Communing with the Nuttgod
“Jimmy Nutts dawg. Listen to what I’m telling you. 1986, New Jersey. You hear me dawg? No mistborn, no stormlight, none of this fluffy garbage. We talking black company, Glen cook dawg, coke and croaker you understand me?!”
@@thefantasynuttwork likely the greatest crossover of all time. 🤣
Not in 2023 but recently the tsukihime remake novel got announced to be coming out ing English and considering how much I love the whole of the nasuverse I’m freaking pumped. Still only near side tho.😢
But mahoyo was fine can’t wait till tsukihime and our vampire princess to come back
I’ll have to look that up
@@thefantasynuttwork if you ever decide to start into the nasuverse, I’ll be glad to be your guide through
Have you ever read anything by Kurt Vonnegut? Slaughterhouse-5 is a great place to start
He’s on my list!
Under the dome book is great I did enjoy the first season of under the dome tv series but not the final season
I’ll watch it once I’m done reading it
The ending sucks on most king books but the build up is a great ride
How on Earth do you have time for all of that? 😮 I believe you've mentioned that you work in IT, and so do I, and it's just so demanding of my time, the amount of extra projects you have running for the reading community seems unreal. How?!
Good question! I work as a developer yes and it’s fairly demanding. I have a pretty rigid schedule and I stick to it, that’s truly the only way I can get stuff done. Hahaha
I can confirm the books after the original Millenium trilogy are mediocre. There is actually another one coming out next month that is written by a new author. The estate is just hiring people to write in the series still. I'm going to give this new author a chance to see if she can breathe fresh life in the series because I like Lisbeth, but if it's bad I'm out. The next two books in the trilogy are more focused on Lisbeth. They are still excellent, but they just have a slightly different focus than the first one.
While maybe not my most hyped book, I plan on finishing the Wheel of Time next month. That's almost two years from starting the series so that will feel good finally wrapping that one up. The series feels overall like a 3.5 stars but the Sanderson written ones have picked up the pace and I'm looking forward to the last book.
Nice!!
Fully support a more seasonal approach if it helps keep things exciting for you!
Just finished City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation) and it blew my mind. So I'm incredibly excited to savour this journey into the fictional city of Ambergris. Unlike anything out there, with gorgeous prose. It's hilarious and unsettling and beautiful and so meta... Highly recommended
Awesome, thank you!
Regarding the author of the Millennium trilogy, when he died/disappeared he wasn't married to his girlfriend and she didn't inherit the estate rights. Stieg Larsson's family (father and brother?) hired the other author to keep the cash train going. The girlfriend may or may not be in possession of a 4th manuscript by Stieg Larsson.
I don't know if this is true but I heard Larsson was estranged from his family at the time of his death as well?
Thanks for the info!
The problem is that you have to have an interest in reading before searching on RUclips for something to watch, so I think it's always going to be a little bit of a struggle capturing new readers.
True
I’ve not been reading nearly as much as I wanted to this summer, but I’m gonna try to rally and finish strong. I’m looking at Ted Chiang’s second short collection Exhalation, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and the Green Bone Saga.
All of those are great to read!
How about James S.A. Corey? It makes me wonder why you haven't continued The Expanse.
Just always seems to slip my mind
@@thefantasynuttwork You must be very busy then. I'm busy here too. I couldn't find time to finish Red Rising series, I'm hating myself lol
@@deanryanmartin it’s been so busy over here, but trying to do what I can haha hope things ease up for you dude
@@thefantasynuttwork Busy is good. It is a good stress to an extent. I wish we can collab in work, like you are the software engineer of a site, and you can hire me as search marketer.
Hi Jimmy, Thanks for the great content. Your discussions with other youtubers are some of my favorite content in whole internet.
I have one observation that you may find unreasonable as a US resident (because you are living far away), but I can't help but share my opinion (I wanted to do this after your last conversation with Philip, but I stopped because I don't normally write comments online).
I have many works of Russian classics in my own library and I have read many of them. But right now, when the Russians have invaded Ukraine and innocent people are being killed every day, I don't think it's the best time to talk about Russian culture. I don't support censorship and I certainly don't think that books should be banned, but they shouldn't be promoted either. We are not talking about people's views, beliefs, we are talking about people's lives destroyed. Promotion of Russian culture is part of Russian state politics (this is how the "good" face of Russia is shown).
Whatever your approach going forward, good luck and I look forward to new conversations with other youtubers on your channel.
I fully support Ukraine but I also don’t think mentioning Tolstoy is going to be harmful, just my opinion. I’ll reflect more on this though and appreciate your honest feedback
@@thefantasynuttwork I have no doubts about your support for Ukraine (I know about your great initiative for humanitarian aid).
I apologize if my message may have sounded like a rebuke to you. I didn't have that in mind. Happy further reading!
@@egidijuskiaulakys5676 you’re totally good! I appreciate it!
I only read 8 books so far
Were they good?
@@thefantasynuttwork yes. Blood meridian, Swan Song, the red rising trilogy, and three asoiaf books
@@sn00k3_9 that sounds sooooo good!
69th like lets gooooooooooooooooooooooo
KING 👑
Going to read any occultist fiction? Not books featuring the occult, books BY legit occultist 😮 sick shit
Yes
@@thefantasynuttworkI’ll gather the good shit together and send it your way. I’m talking the type of stuff they put you on a watchlist for 💀👹
@@mitch8948 🤣🤣🤣